Big Data Matters 3 - The need for timely statistics

Online seminar - Thursday, 1 April 2021

The Centre for Big Data Statistics (the Netherlands) and the ONS Data Science Campus (UK)
2020 was a remarkable year: the world was facing a new pandemic and people’s daily lives were changed considerably. ‘Het nieuwe normaal’ (the new normal) has been coined as a new phrase within Dutch society and politics. But what does the ‘new normal’ look like in terms of health, economy, mobility and the labour market? And how can policy makers respond swiftly to these changes in society? National statistical institutes provide insights into the state of society by way of official statistics. Now, more than ever, there is a great need for more timely statistics.

Big data matters when timeliness is crucial
In recent years, Statistics Netherlands and the Office for National Statistics, together with universities and knowledge institutes, have invested in research and the production of timely statistics. Big data combined with survey and administrative data sources offer new possibilities for creating timely and accurate statistics.